No personal experience with it. But having taken a glance at just the chapter headings, it looks largely like a collection of research monographs. I personally wouldn't find that very useful if I wanted a topic treated thoroughly and systematically. Again, let me reiterate that this is an opinion formed from a *very* cursory look at just the headings, so take it with a pinch of salt.

If you really want to get him something that he will find useful, my suggestion is to actually ask him. Especially so since this is not your field. Also, you don't want to get him something he's already got. Surprises are nice, but giving a gift that the receiver actually finds very useful is priceless.

Oh well if we are talking seriously, it is usually misplaced and unlikely to be wanted and used if you buy a technical book for a specialist unless he says he wants that one.

More appropriate could be something more perspective. There must be some more popular books about the Terrible Threat in the World from the Emergence Of Superbugs, New Untreatable Diseases, The Coming Epidemic, that sort of thing. To distinguish between serious ones and sensationals try flipping through book reviews in journals like the New Scientist or Scientific American, or if you can't access those, from the book reviews on Amazon, you should be able to pick out which ones are from scientific readers who know what they are talking about, their comments might indicate if a book is of interest for your friend. Another idea, if your friend is not a philistine on the one hand, or knows too much on the other, a historical book on the history or the heroes of microbiology. There are the oft-told tales about Pasteur, Fleming, etc. but there are certainly some less well-known stories, or historical themes. Again same sources.